Personalised Peppa Pig Book: 'My Mummy' (Review)

The Boy's obsession with Peppa Pig is showing no signs of fading, with sticker albums being bought from pocket money, and the excitement of April being the month of Peppa Pig on Nick Jnr.

I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to that!

However, as much as I roll my eyes about it, there are far worse programmes that The Boy could like. Peppa's world is happy, innocent and full of childhood goodness. There's no malevolence, the porcine siblings learn about the world in which they live in a safe and humorous environment which children can relate to.

And this is why I'm a big fan of the personalised Peppa Pig books which are available from Penwizard. Seeing The Boy's face when he opens up a new Peppa Pig book which features himself alongside his favourite character is something to treasure, it really is. The books are stories of the most popular episodes, episodes that he is incredibly familiar with, and he loves seeing his name and stylised image in the pages amongst the well-loved residents of Peppa's world.

The latest addition to Penwizard's collection is the 'My Mummy' story book which celebrates how fabulous mummies are!

Peppa Pig personalised book

Personalising the book is incredibly easy and takes only a matter of minutes. The book can accommodate up to two children in the story, with the options to input full names, select hair, eye and skin colours and the mummy's physical features can be chosen too.

This would be a wonderful present for both mums and children for birthdays, Mother's Day or even Easter.

The 'My Mummy' personalised Peppa Pig book is available from Penwizard directly for £14.99

I received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review, my opinion is honest and unbiased.

Ladybird: Read It Yourself Books (Review)

Even though he is approaching four and half years old, The Boy still adores Peppa Pig in any format. Therefore when Ladybird asked me if I'd like to review some of the books from their newly revamped 'Read It Yourself' series, and mentioned that they had titles from the pink porcine in their range, I jumped at the chance.

The Boy has been reading CVC words (consonant-vowel-consonant, e.g. cat, dog, mum) for several months now and has a developing sight vocabulary for high frequency words like 'and', 'the', 'this' or 'from'. I was sent two Level 1 books and two Level 2 books:

  • Level 1: For children who are ready to take their first steps in reading;
  • Level 2: For beginner readers who can read short, simple sentences with help.

The books do the right thing in that they provide an introductory page with the keywords on it, and there is also a parents' guide at the front explaining how to use the book.

So far so good.

Looking specifically at a Level 1 book here, the stories are simple and attractively presented with picture cues which can help the reader to ascertain the context of the text. Many of the high frequency words like 'this' or 'little' are repeated throughout, alongside the key vocabulary. But then into a sentence there will be a 'house' or a 'snail', or the one that really flummoxed me earlier was 'says'.

Those are not first stage readers' words.

First stage readers words are CVC words with some of the very highest frequency words, like the books we were reading together tonight which has sentences like 'Biff and Chip set off'. The Boy could work those out because the blends were easy. Segmenting and blending 'house' and 'snail' are not easy; that requires an understanding that 'ou' makes an 'ow' sound (but it can also make an 'oh' sound) and that 'ai' makes a long 'a'. Likewise knowing that 'ay' makes an 'air' sound when put into 'says'.

That's not easy. It is not for children 'who are ready to take their first steps in reading'.

In the Level 2 Peppa Pig book 'Sports Day' there are even more complicated sentences like '"Ready, steady, go!" says Madame Gazelle.' Again, this is supposed to be a book for 'beginner readers who can read short, simple sentences with help.' It's not, this is a tricky book, and although the sentence structures are repeated, the vocabulary requires working out in the first place.

I may seem overly critical here, but I think that labelling these books as Level 1 and Level 2 is not helpful to parents. I'm lucky that as a teacher I have a fairly decent understanding of phonics and how to teach reading. I would hate to see a parent buy these books for their four year old child, pressure them into trying to read it and then put them off the joy of reading.

Most schools seem to use the Oxford Reading tree reading scheme which starts off at Stage 1 or Stage 1+. They will be the books that most Reception children will start to read, and they contain sentences like, 'Dad got on it.' or 'Kipper put on a rug.'

So why the discrepancy with these 'Read It Yourself' Level 1 books?

The added complication is apparent when on closer examination of the back cover, under the bar code, there is a label 'Book banded for school use: Book Band 5 (for Level 1) or Book Band 6 (for Level 2).'

Book Banding is a system that was created to ensure that all the different reading schemes on the market could be compared realistically.

  • The Oxford Reading Tree Stage 1 books which I gave examples from above are Book Band 1.
  • The Ladybird 'Read It Yourself' Level 1 books are Book Band 5.

These books are beautifully presented and attractive. And I am sure that they are enticing and engaging for children to read, but the fact that they are labelled Level 1 is deceptive as it implies (and states) that they are for beginner readers and they are not; they're far more developed than that.

I was sent these products for the purpose of this post. My opinion is honest and unbiased, and based on my professional experience.

Personalised 'Peppa Pig' Goes Swimming (Review)

It's probably not going to come as a surprise to anyone reading this blog, but The Boy is rather a big fan of Peppa Pig. There is something about the porcine family which completely captivates him and he adores 'reading' the massive selection of books that we have.

Recently I was invited to review one of the fabulous personalised Peppa Pig books available from Penwizard.co.uk, specifically the 'Peppa and ____ Go Swimming' book. The whole ordering process is incredibly simple to do and allows for personalisation of the child's hair, eye and skin colouring, along with hair style and the addition of glasses.

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There's A Reason It's Called 'Premier' Inn (Review)

In the last year we've been more adventurous in our days out, extending the days to staying over in hotels and making weekends of our outings. As The Boy is getting older it's easier to do with less things to pack, particularly a travel cot!

Last Summer we ventured up to Manchester to see a recording of Justin's House for CBeebies, and a friend helped me to find accommodation as she knew the area well. She suggested Premier Inn and I initially turned my nose up, having a preconceived idea based on my inability to tell Travel Lodge and Premier Inn apart. However, I turned to my trusty Trip Advisor and was pleasantly surprised to find that the specific hotel has 5 stars on customer ratings. We checked in and discovered that the West Trafford hotel had two double beds in the room with plenty of space for The Boy's travel cot (which we still needed at the time). The room was spotless, the breakfast excellent and the housekeeping meticulous, with the lady who attended to our room making The Boy's travel cot up each day and arranging Oliver Monkey in different positions each day!

This was when my little 'love affair' with Premier Inns started. Since then we've stayed there to go to In The Night Garden in April, Silverstone, LolliBop and Thomas Days Out in August, and a fortnight ago on our way down to Coombe Mill. In between Thomas and Coombe Mill we ventured down to Southampton to see how Peppa Pig World is doing a year and a half after it first opened, and stayed in the Southampton West Quay hotel courtesy of Premier Inn.

We arrived at 11pm on a Thursday evening, having found the hotel very easily using sat-nav. Surprisingly there isn't a car park attached to the hotel, so in the interim while we checked in we left the car in the staff car park. I'm going to come back to the car park situation later.

Check in was via one of the new automated machines and incredibly simple: type in your last name, confirm your stay and it prints the receipt, encodes the room keys and pops them out for you to use. The whole thing took less than a minute, very efficient and easy to do, albeit lacking the personal touch I felt.

family hotel rooms
The family room is as comfortable and familiar as the spare room at your mum and dad's. I find the rooms reassuring in their facilities, layout and comfort. Every room is meticulously clean and tidy, beds are firm and comfortable, the bedding is thick cotton, the bathroom is spotless and the towels are fluffy. Add to that the bonus that the storage unit offers a place for luggage, shoes and hanging clothes, and also has a vanity mirror, hairdryer, kettle, and a flat-screen television.

family hotel rooms
In a family room, Premier Inn turn the sofa into a proper single divan bed by removing the backrest and making it up as normal. The Boy sleeps brilliantly on it, so much so that every time he's woken up in one of Premier Inn's beds, it's been later than at home (I have considered moving in permanently, but I'd still have to pay the mortgage here!). As an aside, when we stayed in the Slough hotel in April I wasn't sure if The Boy would need a travel cot or a bed so booked both; the travel cot was made up beautifully in the corner of the room and there was plenty of space for us.

We usually have the breakfasts in Premier Inn, and this stay was no exception. Often in the hotels there is the option for a continental breakfast for approximately £5.00 or a Premier breakfast (including the continental and hot breakfast buffet) for £8.25 per adult. Children eat free for every adult booking a premier breakfast. The continental breakfast range is excellent including approximately eight cereals, Yeo Valley yoghurts, fruit, croissants, crumpets, toast, preserves, hot drinks, juices and the full quota of milk. The hot buffet includes scrambled eggs, fried eggs, hash browns, bacon, sausages, tomatoes, mushrooms, baked beans and they can also prepare poached eggs, omlettes and vegetarian sausages to order.

family hotel rooms

Premier Inn stays are stress-free and enjoyable, we all like staying there which is why we keep going back. The prices of the rooms can vary depending upon the location but typically a family room costs between £55-75 which is excellent value for money.

When it comes to the Southampton West Quay hotel I have mixed feelings. It's a modern hotel with air conditioning and plenty of facilities. Central to the harbours for cruises, seven miles from Peppa Pig World and a few more from Marwell Zoo, it's a good place to stay if you're seeing sites in the area. Unfortunately, I can't get over the parking issue, especially as we have a young child.

The lack of car park for guests is a problem. Parking options in this specific hotel are two nearby multi-storey car parks. At the time of night that we arrived both had closed at 9-10pm. The nearest car park was an open-air one in a retail park, a ten minute walk away. I refused to park there and yes I admittedly pulled the review card to get us a space in the staff car park overnight. Had I not been reviewing, I probably would have demanded a parking space there anyway; I've got a young child and it is not practical to lug him and all his belongings from a multi-storey car park. I also resent paying for parking when staying in a hotel. The area of the car park is plenty big enough for around thirty-forty cars as there is a big grassy section doing nothing apart from looking green. This is the only negative about this hotel.

If anyone else is looking to book a Peppa Pig World short break then I would definitely recommend Premier Inn, but I would probably suggest Southampton West which is only one mile from the park and has on-site parking.

I was provided with two nights accommodation and breakfast for the purpose of this review. My opinion is honest and unbiased regardless of this fact, because I really do love Premier Inn.

Peppa Pig's Sports Day App (Review)

Peppa Pig
Riding on the back of the Summer of sport is this fantastic app from the popular Peppa Pig range by P2 games. Peppa Pig's Sports Day is a brilliant app which allows your little ones to be introduced to the concept of competitive sports in a fun, secure and familiar setting.

Peppa Pig
There are four races to take part in, alongside a refreshments kiosk where players can make and design their own ice-creams, a rosette making game, and a sticker section to make scenes from awarded stickers.

The four races allow for four of the Peppa Pig characters to be chosen and played with in the game, which means that up to four players can take part. However, if your little one is playing by themselves, then they can choose just one of the characters and compete against the computer.

Peppa Pig
The four games are: Obstacle Race, Bike Race, Long Jump and Tug of War. They require the players to tap their character on the side of the screen to move the 'avatar' along in the race.

Peppa Pig
In the ice-cream parlour, players can add ingredients to a bowl, mix it, add it to an ice-cream maker and then decorate their ice-creams.

Peppa Pig
It did occur to me that maybe a smoothie might have been a healthier option, but on the other hand, it's a nice addition to the game and The Boy loves concocting odd recipes.

Peppa Pig

The four pictures at the end of the game which allow the player to build up a scene are a nice addition, especially as the size of the characters can be adjusted to suit.

The Boy loves any Peppa Pig app on the iPad and it provides hours of entertainment for him. I've reviewed a few of them but I've also bought them. At £2.99 they are one of the more pricey apps for children, but the content and quality makes them definitely worth it.

Peppa Pig's Sports Day is available on iTunes for £2.99.

I was sent a download code for the purpose of this review. My opinion is honest and unbiased.

Monsters and Pigs (Review)

There are two characters that The Boy loves more than any others at the moment: The Gruffalo and George Pig. Therefore when I was asked by Jokers Masquerade, if I'd like to review some fancy dress costumes for him, I chose them without a second's thought!

The first thing that I need to point out is the sheer quality of this official costume: the fur is thick and doesn't pull out, the colours and attention to detail are spot on, the seams are well constructed. The size is 3-5 years and as The Boy is very tall for his age (95th percentile) he found it very comfortable with quite a bit of growing space in it. The Gruffalo costume is available for the currently reduced price of £23.99.

The second costume we were sent was a George Pig costume. I was concerned before it arrived because I've tried tabard style costumes before and they are snug to say the least. In fact I squeezed my poor one year old boy into a Very Hungry Caterpillar costume for his birthday and had to yank his arms through, and that was sized three years. So when this costume arrived (aged 3-5 years) I was really pleasantly surprised by the sizing: roomy and well constructed with a velcro fastening to halfway down the stomach. At £14.99, it's very reasonably priced.

It's roomy and there's plenty of headspace in the hood section, you'll have to excuse the fact that my son is honking George's nose, he was obsessed with it! I was really impressed with the quality of this official costume again, it's spot on for pirate George!

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go and read The Gruffalo and The Pirate Island for the eleventy billionth time!

I was sent these products for the purpose of this review. My opinion is honest and unbiased.

Personalised Peppa Pig Party Book (Review & Competition)

I was recently asked if I'd like to review another personalised Peppa Pig book, this time it was focused on Peppa coming to The Boy's birthday party.

The process of ordering the book through the Penwizard site is incredibly easy and allows for the book to be personalised to feature your child's name, age and adjust the appearance of the main character for hair colour and style, eye colour, and skin tone, along with a personalised message.

personalised peppa pig

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Argos & Chad Valley Clothing (Review)

We were recently asked if we'd like to review some clothing for The Boy. As the request came from Argos, I was more than a little surprised. They are someone I'd consider buying homeware, toys or electricals from but never clothing, and that's mainly to do with the fact that I didn't know that they did it!

The choice available was from the Argos own-brand, the new Emma Bunton range or the Chad Valley range of clothing. Chad Valley is a range that I knew from it's previous exclusivity at Woolworths (a shop that I really miss on the high street) and I was ignorant to the fact that Argos had taken over that exclusivity for both the toys and clothing lines. The clothing available is good solid, rough and tumble clothes, perfect for boys exploring their world.

I chose two items for The Boy; a red hooded cardigan  from the Chad Vallery line ('perfect for those balmy Summer evenings' was my original thought. Ha!) and a pair of Peppa Pig brushed cotton pyjamas, featuring his little brother George, from the Argos own-brand range.

argos clothing

The George Pig pyjamas are his absolute favourite, not only because of the pattern and character subtley appliqued on them, but because they are soft and warm. Those are perfect for these freezing 'balmy' Summer evenings. They cost £12.99 and are available from ages 18months through to 5 years. I will be buying these in the next size up because they are such good value.

The red hooded cardigan is warm and a lovely colours. He loves the colour red and is more than happy to be snuggly warm inside this. The only thing I would say about it is the size of the hood. The Boy has a got a slightly larger head than other children his age (lots of brains!) but this hood only seems to come halfway over his head barely covering his ears. Fine for most children, but not for The Boy. It's available from 12 months to 5 years and is £9.99.

We were sent these products for the purpose of this review. Our opinions are honest and unbiased.